How to Sound Like You're From Austin (in 90 Seconds)

Daniel Johnston's famous mural "Jeremiah the Innocent" by Guadalupe Street.

Credit Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon/KUT

What do you think of when you think of Austin?

Live music, hot summers, breakfast tacos and the people come to mind for starters. But spend a little time here, and another thing jumps out at you – the "Austin correct" pronunciation of local streets and landmarks.

Take Guadalupe Street across from the UT Campus ­– pronounced Gwad-a-loop by generations of students and residents.

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You may have seen them on your morning commute: handmade signs, around Lamar and Barton Springs, offering services and sentiments that seem more than a little bit off. Public Notice: That Rash Won't Just Go Away R.I.P. Weird, 1969 – 2014. We Will Miss You! If You Lived Here, You'd Be Homeless By Now Some even have a phone number attached: I Buy Broken Dreams: 512-333-1984 They're the work of one person – a homeless man in his 30s named David. Not that he refers to himself by that name. "I go by the name of Liar, which has nothing to do with the instrument ," he says.

It’s no surprise that Austin ranks highly on many lists: fastest growing cities , best cities , even “hipster” cities . But a more personal conversation has been unfolding on the Austin page of popular social website Reddit , simply asking “Why did you choose Austin?” A native Austinite posed the question , noting many friendships made with people who decided to move to here. “So, my question to you Austin Redittors, why do you love Austin? Why is this where you want to live over other places? I'd love to see from another perspective why you think this city is so awesome.” The question garnered 70 responses. Several answers dwell upon Austin’s traditional draws, but others are more attached to what makes Austin weird: People come for school – then stick around: “I moved here to finish school at UT about 20 years ago after traveling like a nomad for quite a bit,” writes Redditor MonsterBronson . “Of all the cities I've seen, Austin is the best (for multiple reasons) so I never left.”

Reaction to KUT News’ post about what draws new residents to Austin has been great. While the 26 comments readers left on the blog are shy of the 85 now in the original Reddit thread that inspired the post, they’re no less illustrative or provocative in their assesment of the changing face of Austin. (And that doesn't even count the 58 comments left on the Facebook thread NPR started.) Let’s start with the highest-rated comment, a joke from Jessica Ellison : My favorite Austin joke: How many Austinites does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, but 25 to talk about how great the old light bulb was. Commenters seem divided on what change means for Austin. Commenter tee vee dee writes : Austin is certainly suffering the "Best City" curse. Mass waves of people all trying to escape the dregs of their life, yet unwilling to let it go completely and fully embrace what's here. They're drawn to the vibe without ever really experiencing it or adding to it before giving it a white wash of familiar chain stores and restaurants. I'm all for inner city development, but much of the growth of the past few years has been decidedly un-weird.